Woz on iPhone in 40 years: “I won’t want you humans”

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak recently touched down in Australia to give a speech at the QUT Business Leaders’ Forum – on the same day the iPhone 5 released in the country, no less. While he was there, Australia’s 9 News reports that he took some time to look to the future and consider the technology we’ll be enjoying in 40 years. It turns out that he’s excited for the AI era to arrive in force, talking about all of the advancements we’ll have made in just a few decades’ time.

“In 40 years we will have computers that are conscious, that have feelings, that have a personality,” Woz said. “A computer is going to be your best friend. You’ll talk to it. It’s going to look at your face and know your expression. It’s going to know your heart and soul better than anything in the world.” While that does sound a little bit creepy, having computers with a personality of their own is also somewhat exciting at the same time. Woz clarifies that some humans might be replaced by machines and that we might have to restructure society as a result, and paints a rather lonely picture for iPhone users of the future.

In 40 years, provided Apple keeps up with the yearly iPhone releases, we’ll be on the iPhone 45. That’s a strange enough though all on its own, but Woz says that “It’s going to know me so good I won’t want you humans.” Whether that’s a good or bad thing is up for debate. The upside to all of this, however, is that it will be keeping technology companies on their toes. Woz says that technology will be progressing so quickly that manufacturers will need to act fast and get in on the ground floor if they want to be responsible for changing the way we use computers and smartphones.

While it’s very exciting to consider where technology will be in 40 years from now, it’s also a bit alarming to think that we’ll eventually be relying on technology even more than we do today. Woz is definitely onto something when he says that artificial intelligence is the next big thing in technology, though. What do you think of all of this? Are computers that have personalities and know us “better than anything in the world” a good thing?